Warriors Destroy All of Cleveland

Who are we kidding? Golden State just took a massive dump on the entire state of Ohio last night. The 110-77 beat down was impressive, but just sad for the Cavs. Through two games, they have now been outscored by a combined 48 points. Things don't look so good for them. 

The Splash Brothers were held in check for most of the night. Steph Curry had 18 while Klay Thomspon contributed another 17. The player of the night was Draymond Green who led all scorers with 28. Cleveland didn't feel threatened by him from outside, and they paid for it. Green nailed five three-pointers, most of when he was wide open. Andrew Bogut had a good game defensively. Four of his five blocks came within the first few minutes of the game and set the tone for how it would be played. 

LeBron was held scoreless in the first quarter, but led Cleveland with 19. He also had 8 rebounds and 9 assists. He led the team in each of those categories. Kevin Love left the game early in the third quarter after complaining of dizziness. He took an elbow from Harrison Barnes to the back of the head in the second quarter. 

Saying that the Warriors dominated the Cavs is a huge understatement. The smaller team outrebounded Cleveland 46-34. They also shot the higher percentage, 54.3 to 34.4. Not suprising at all, the 15 three-pointers didn't hurt either. 

We're now in do-or-die mode. Cleveland can't afford to drop one at home if they hope to make a run at a title. For Golden State, if you go up 3-0, congrats, it's over. Hell, it might already be. Game 3 is Wednesday night in Cleveland. 

-Dug

@chansm1th

Warriors Take Game 1, 104-89

Who saw this coming? No, not that the Warriors would win Game 1, but how they won it? Had you told me yesterday that the Splash Brothers would combine for a mere 20 points, I would have thought that the names by the score would be switched. You probably would have too. 

Shaun Livingston had a career night. Coming off the bench, he scored 20 points. As mentioned, the same amount Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combined for. Crazy! This night was all about the Warriors' bench. They outscored their opponents 45-10. Andre Iguodala chipped in 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. The only bright spot from the Warrior starting five was Draymond Green who scored 16, pulled in 11 boards, and dished out 7 assists.

For the Cavs, things could have gone a lot better. Sure they held Curry and Thompson to poor shooting nights, but Golden State still shot nearly 50% from the field (.494, actually). The Cavs were beaten because they didn't play defense. The Warriors' motto is "Strength in Numbers". They went deep to their bench and it was a next man up type of deal. Double-doubles from LeBron James and Kevin Love we're not enough. The Big Three combined for 66 of the 89 points. If Cleveland hopes to climb back into the series, they'll need to do three things: 1) Play defense, like, actual defense. 2) Find a fourth man to share the load. Take some of the pressure off Kyrie Irving, Love, and James. 3) Win a road game, preferably Game 2. 

Up 1-0, the Warriors will look to continue their quest for back-to-back championships with Game 2 on Sunday. Cleveland shouldn't be in panic yet. One bad game isn't a good start, but the problems can be fixable at least. 

-Dug

@chansm1th

NBA Finals Preview

It All Comes Down to This

All season long, this has been the goal. Well, sorta. Two teams remain. Golden State and Cleveland, the top two teams in their respective conferences face off for the second year in a row for the NBA's crown jewel. Golden State is looking to repeat as Champs and also cap off the best season by an NBA team. Golden State looking to win their fifth NBA Championship while the Cavs are looking for their first ever. It is very notable that the city of Cleveland hasn't won a major sports championship since 1964 (the Browns did it). Before we get into predictions, let's take a look at how each team got here.

Golden State set an NBA record with 73 during the season. Steph & Co were supposed to roll through the playoffs. After Steph missing time for injury, they found their backs against the wall in the Western Conference Finals as they trailed the Oklahoma City Thunder three games to one. Against all odds, the Warriors won three straight to make it past the Thunder and into the Finals. All eyes are on them as they are the heavy favorites.

Cleveland is here because LeBron came back. He is making a sixth straight appearce in the NBA Finals as well as a repeat for Cleveland. With a decent (better than previous years) supporting cast, Cleveland might have its best chance yet at a championship. Throughout the playoffs, they were untested as they swept through the first two rounds. They toyed with Toronto in the Conference Finals, but now they have made it back to where they intended to be. Let's see what our experts predict,

Dug's Take:

I really dislike both teams. I was pulling hard for OKC against the Warriors, but they fell short. It was nearly agonizing to watch how they had the series and then lost it. I also don't give a shit for LeBron or Cleveland. Nothing would tickle me more than to watch Cleveland lose again and add to their woes. With that being said, you're bound to have a good guy (LeBron) versus the bad guy (the Warriors). I hate Draymond Green. He's dirty, and there is no room in the sport for what he has gotten away with. I think the Warriors were very lucky to get past the Thunder. They might have had the better record, but they weren't the better team. Cleveland has made mincemeat of their competition throughout the playoffs. The Raptors were by no means world beaters, but Cleveland took care of business. I think that LeBron has the better supporting cast. Steph and Klay Thompson can only shoot so much. I don't think they can do to Cleveland what they did to OKC. Cleveland is big where Golden State refuses to play big. As bad as I hate to say both of the following predictions, Cleveland in 5 with a darkhorse for MVP in Kyrie Irving. Damn Dukies.

Corbeech's Take:

For the moment, I'm still a Cleveland fan. That will soon change as the lottery nears. But as a Cleveland fan, I know how much it sucks to be a Cleveland fan and how they'll never win anything meaningful. LeBron is the only hope Cleveland has of being competitive in any sport. If you aren't following, Cleveland sucks and Dan Gilbert is an idiot. Golden State got lucky to get past the Thunder and I have believed all postseason long that whoever won the Western Conference would be able to make it fairly easily through the East in the playoffs. Everyone knows the West owns the East and this year is no different. As good as Cleveland is, I'd take Golden State, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio over them. I'm not really sugar coating this, but I don't think Cleveland has much of a shot vs Golden State and it makes me sad. I don't like the Warriors, but I HATE Steph and #23 for Golden State. I hope they never win another game in their careers. However, I think they've got four wins coming their way. I'll say Golden State in 6. For MVP, I'm saying it will be Klay Thompson edging out Andre Igoudala. I think Kyrie will give Steph issues and limit his takeover ability, so Klay is the next best choice. Prove me wrong Cleveland. Please.

Alty's Take: 

I think both conference championship series taught us two things.

1. The Cleveland Cavaliers can not play on the road.  

2. The Warriors do not play well when Draymond Green is agitated and playing poorly. 

Even though the teams are quite similar to what we saw in last year's NBA finals, I think position match-ups will determine the outcome of the series. 

LeBron James is going to do LeBron James things. He very well may end up averaging close to a triple double. A potential problem I see is Klay Thompson shooting the lights out of whoever plays the two position. That could be JR Smith or that could be Iman Shumpert. Either way I look for Klay to have a huge series. 

Andre Iguodala is going to have to guard LeBron James just like he did in last year series. Performances like Iguodala's Finals MVP really really set the tone for what this Warriors team was able to do and tried to accomplish this year. They wanted to hit you from all sides of the court, and not have one weak link in there starting five. Harrison Barnes was another player that may have played his way into a max contract starting in last year's NBA finals and continuing that this year.

My selection is the Warriors winning in 7 games. 

I would like LeBron James to win this series, but it's hard to see that happening. After writing my piece on James getting to his sixth straight NBA finals, I realized how much of a hater I had become. This saddens me, and I need to give respect where respect is due. I put a little respek on his name. 

Talking about position match ups: I think LeBron James dominates any player that lines up defensively on him. LeBron is just too good, he's too big, he's too tall, he's too fast, he's too strong, too many grammatical errors. I have a feeling that Steph Curry is going to have at least one if not two ankle breaking GIFS for Kyrie. Look for Draymond to take it to Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love. I just wonder about JR Smith and Iman Shumpert being able to guard anyone on the Warriors team. Sean Livingston may come in and score on both of those players.

I think the Cavaliers will win three games at home and lose all four in the Oracle Center in San Francisco. I agree with Corbett when he talks about Klay Thompson winning the Finals MVP, however I think this is Steph Curry's MVP to lose. He may have won the league MVP last year, but this is a new Steph Curry and I don't think he will let another MVP slip away from him. 

NBA Finals Wake-Up

Good Morning Readers! After a long holiday break and some restructuring, we are back just in time for the NBA Finals. Game 1 tips tonight at 9:00. Golden State is currently favored by 5.5 points at the moment, but let's see how the game plays out. 

About the restructuring, we as a group have talked it through and decided what we think is a better way to go about delivering the news and commentary to you. We will be giving coverage of the main topics in sports, as well as recaps the following day. More posts, even though they might be smaller or just tidbits of information. 

This afternoon, we will have a full preview of the NBA Finals along with predictions on winner, number of games, and MVP. Each writer will have their own predictions. That being said, you should keep up with it so you can heckle us when we are wrong!

Lastly, over the next several weeks, we will be previewing every FBS college football team's season. A schedule of what and when each will be released should be out by the weekend. 

This is our 60th post. I know I speak for everyone, myself included, when I say thank you for sticking around. We don't get comments, but we see the page views and are tickled that so many people take time out of their day to see what we're blabbering about. Even you, Anne Sansabelle! 

Stay tuned!

-Dug

@chansm1th

Sixth Straight Finals For Lebron

The Cavaliers put away the Raptors 113-87 in Game 6 in Toronto Friday night. The game wasn't close at any point past the 9 minute mark in the 1st quarter. The Big 3 in Cleveland scored 83 of those 113, and dominated every aspect of the game. The Cavaliers looked good. Really good. Good enough to beat whichever team comes out of the West good. But, bigger than the Cavaliers going to the Finals looking for their first championship there was another stat that really is mind blowing.

Love that hat.

How crazy is it that Lebron James has made 6 straight NBA Finals? The last time Lebron wasn't in the NBA Finals, Kobe won his last championship back in 2010, and Lebron left town with "The Decision". Since Lebron took his talents to South Beach, he's been destroying the East. In the previous 5 Finals appearances for Lebron, he's 2-3. Both wins were with the Heat, beating Thunder in 2012 and Spurs in 2013. The losses are the Mavs in 2011, Spurs in 2014, and Warriors in 2015.
Lebron has now done something that hasn't been done since the 1960's. Lebron is the only player to do this that didn't play for Boston when the Celtics won 11 championships in 13 years (1957, 1959-66, 1968-69). None of the greats has this accomplishment on their resume. The game has changed so much, but Lebron doesn't care. All Lebron cares about is being an all-time player, and he's making the case for just that.

In the last two years, Lebron has become sort of a pansy cry baby, and that saddens me. I was a huge Lebron fan when everyone turned on him for "The Decision". I agree that may not have been the best way to do a free agency signing, but you can't deny the charity money, and the way he changed any kind of signing for the rest of history (any recruitment signing). Ever since he's returned to Cleveland Lebron has been still ruling the NBA world. Even after writing this I'm changing the way I feel about Lebron.

I'd love to see Kevin Durant and the Thunder play Lebron and the Cavs again. That would be a battle against two teams that love to run and come right at you. Can't wait for the Thunder to beat the Warriors on Saturday.

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I, like most of America, forgot that James Jones of the Cavaliers is also in this 6 straight NBA Finals club. He has nowhere near the stats of Lebron James, but does deserve a mention.

Memorial Weekend "Kick"-Off

See what I did there?

It's finally Friday! Hope you're ready for a long weekend filled with sports, cookouts, and friends. I know that I am. Let's get in it and look at what happened and what will take place. 

Warriors Still Alive and Kicking, 120-111

Let's just give it up. Draymond Green is going to kick. Brace yourself and watch out because it's apparent after last night that his "shooting motion" isn't going to change. The Warriors fought off elimination with help from the same old crew and someone you had forgotten about. Steph Curry went for 31 while his running mate Klay Thompson dropped 27. The surprise was former number one pick Andrew Bogut dropping 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. It also didn't hurt that they hit 31 of 34 free throws. Kevin Durant showed up to play, but his 40 points just wasn't enough. Westbrook also had a very nice line: 31 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 steals. Still leading the series, OKC played sharp and good enough to win. Game 6 takes the series back to OKC on Saturday. 

Penguins Outlast Lightning, Advance to Finals

The Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated Tampa Bay last night with a 2-1 victory. They will advance to their 5th Stanley Cup Final to take on San Jose, who is playing in their first. Game 1 is Monday night. 

Looking toward tonight, Cleveland leaves the country again to try and finish off Toronto. Game 6 tip is at 8:30 and the Cavs can advance to a second straight Finals appearance with a win. Don't count out Toronto though. They have beaten Cleveland each time the matchup has been in Toronto. Expect the series to come back south on Sunday for Game 7. 

That's all for today. Be sure to check back for stuff from our other writers (hint, hint)

-Dug

@chansm1th

NBA Lottery: Reborn

I'm slightly ashamed to say this, but I don't have a favorite NBA team. Up until this point, I have just cheered for LeBron and whichever team he was on by default. When he took his talents to Miami, I did too. Yes, that means I'm back on the Cavs bandwagon even though I hate them for being babies the first time LeBron bailed. As a rational human being, I see the issue with being a Cleveland sports fan and plan to remedy this.

This will not be as simple as just picking a new team and supporting them, no. I'm going above and beyond for you, our reader. I will be conducting a lottery to allow fate to decide who I should support. This lottery will be slightly different than the traditional NBA Draft lottery in that it will not be fully loaded to allow a bottom feeder to win. I want fate to decide if I deserve NBA misery or fun times.

My setup will be to have a drawing out of a hat and the last man standing is my new team that I pledge my loyalty to. I will give the bottom half of each conference 2 entries and the top half 1 entry. I'm going to do some adjusting so that I don't get an amazing team or the worst teams. For this, I will eliminate the 76ers, Nets, Cavaliers, and Warriors, passing their entries on to other teams. I will keep you updated as the lottery progresses in the coming days and we'll see where this takes us. We're in this together, so let's make it a good time.

All my love,
@corbeech

Thursday Morning Wake Up Call

Good morning peoples! Rainy day here, but we aren't going to let it keep us down. We have a pair of matchups to look at tonight, but before we get ahead of ourselves, we had a "thrilling" playoff game last night in the Association. 

Cleveland Crushes Toronto's Will to Live

Good Lord! Cleveland continued their home dominance last night as they walloped Toronto, 116-78. The Cavs' Big Three combined for 71 while Toronto's Twosome went for a mere 27. Toronto looked lost all game. It also didn't help them any that the Cavs shot 57% for the game. The Cavs also won the rebound battle 57 to 38. Kevin Love led all scorers with 25 while LeBron and Kyrie added 23 each. It's a devastating loss for the Raptors. One bright spot is that Game 6 moves back to Toronto. The Raptors will hope to force yet another Game 7 when the two meet again on Friday night. 

Melo Trimble to Return

Late yesterday evening, Melo Trimble announced that he would return to school for his junior year. Maryland lost four players from the team that was a Darkhorse Pick in last year's tournament. Trimble was expected to be a first round pick in this draft, but after a shaky finish to last season, he had slipped into the late second round.

Looking to tonight, we have some playoff action. The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to Pittsburgh for the decisive Game 7 with the winner squaring off against those rotten Sharks for Lord Stanley's Cup. The Sharks sealed their invitation last night when they defeated St Louis 5-2 in Game 6. Puck drops at 8:00. 

Golden State limps home to attempt to head back out on the road as they face elimination tonight in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Fresh off back-to-back beat downs, it's do or die. OKC will be going for the throat tonight to eliminate the defending champs and their MVP. Hurt or not, if you can't get up for a game like this, you need to just pack it in. However, I don't think OKC will clinch until the series returns back to their home court. Expect Steph & Company to show up tonight, and let people know how hard it is to beat the Champs on their own home court. Tip is at 9:00. 

That's all that I have this morning. Look for updates throughout the day. 

-Dug

@chansm1th

DeMar DeRozan/Kyle Lowry's Bromance Wake Up

Good Morning! It's a beautiful sunny morning here, and we're going to look at what happened while you were asleep. 

Toronto tied up their series with Cleveland last night as the Raptors took Game 4 105-99. The combo of Lowry and DeRozan, pictured above, continued to carry the weight of their country as the two combined for 67 points last night. Although the Cavs controlled nearly every statistical category, they forgot that the score was the most important one. LeBron James went for 29 points and 9 rebounds while his faithful sidekick Kyrie Irving chipped in 26. With the series being tied, the question now is who win win a road game. I think that for Torontp to win the series, Game 5 tomorrow night in Cleveland is a must win. The winner of that game will take the series, in my opinion. 

Let's take a look at what happened on the diamond last night. Baseball is possibly my favorite sport, but we don't talk near as much about it as we should. Last night, we were treated to a few good pitching performances. Our beloved Reds were on the Left Coast last night to pay a visit to the Dodgers. When you see Clayton Kershaw on the lineup card, you can be safe saying that one run will win the game. Last night saw that. Not Kershaw and Reds' starter Brandon Finnegan turned in complete games. Finnegan's line was 8 innings, 5 hits, and one earned in the losing effort. It was by far the rookie's best start. Kershaw, on the other hand, threw 9 scoreless innings while allowing three base runners and striking out 7. Hard one to lose, but if you like pitching, this was a beautiful sight. 

Elsewhere around baseball, Johnny Cueto threw a complete game shutout. Cueto improved to 7-1 on the season while blanking the Padres. No walks and only two hits allowed, he struck out 6 en route to a 1-0 win. 

Breathe a Sigh of Relief, Scumbag

Looking forward to tonight, we have Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City. As Corbeech noted yesterday, Draymond Green will be able to play for whatever reason. Punishment for his nut kick heard 'round the world wasn't enough to keep this prick off the court. $25,000 and an upgrade to a flagrant two is about as horribly wrong of a decision that could be made. However, Green now has three flagrant points meaning one more and he will automatically be suspended. Who has the betting odds on whether he will get one tonight? Take the no. 

Game 4 is at 9:00 tonight. If Karma is real, OKC will roll the Warriors again, and Draymond Green will get hit by an airplane. 

That's all that I have. Check back later for more news and updates. 

-Dug

@chansm1th

Steven Adams' Nuts Memorial Wake Up

YIKES!

Hopefully you are having a better morning than Mr Adams is. Last night, blows were dealt. The Thunder handed Golden State another defeat, and Draymond Green dealt a low blow as seen in the picture above. OKC won Game 3 133-105 while absolutely crushing the Warriors. Media "experts" claiming the Thunder might not even win a game are still trying to dislodge their feet from their mouths while OKC is halfway to the NBA Finals. Should the NBA suspend Green, it will just make things more difficult for the defending champs. This is the second time that Green and Adams have been tangled up. Head Coach Steve Kerr and Green both claim that it's normal basketball moves. Adams sees it differently though quoted after the game, "It's happened before, mate. He's pretty accurate, that guy". Adams seems like he would be a fun dude to hang out with. He must be a writer's perfect interview. Sit on some ice pal, Game 4 is tomorrow at 9:00. 

On the Eastern side, Toronto hosts Cleveland tonight looking to tie the series. After a 15-point win on Saturday, the Raptors have already done what no other playoff team could do: beat the Cavs. Now that they have broke through, it wouldn't surprise me if they don't even the series tonight in Toronto. Tip is at 8:30 in the frozen north. 

Coming up this week, we'll go over final NBA Draft decisions as the deadline is only a couple of days away. We'll also look at recruiting and how it is ruining college offseasons. Stay tuned!

-Dug

@chansm1th

Exaggerator's Sunday Morning Wakeup

Exaggerator Ends Hope for Triple Crown

Good Morning people! Hope that your weekend is going better than Nyquist's. Let's take a look at what happened yesterday and what we can look forward to today. 

Exaggerator finally caught him. He beat Nyquist for the fist time in his five races. The defeat ends not only the hopes for a Triple Crown, but it is also Nyquist's first defeat. The track, as you can see in the picture, was very sloppy. The conditions favored Exaggerator, who had won three times on such tracks. Exaggerator is the first Preakness winner to win after finishing runner up in the Kentucky Derby since 1993 (Prairie Bayou). The Belmont Stakes will be on June 11th, if anyone still cares. People tend to forget about horse racing once the Triple Crown is out of the way. 

Toronto Knocks Off Cleveland in Game 3

There was plenty of controversy, but Toronto welcomed Cleveland north of the border to a tune of 99-84. The loss for the Cavs makes the first defeat they have suffered in the post season. Their last loss? The Detroit Pistons on April 13th in the regular season finale. Dwayne Casey was very critical of the officials after the game, and he should have been. Looking at the stats, and highlights, you can't hardly blame him. Sure, the NBA officials are very biased towards certain players, but at this point, I'm beginning to believe that it extends to certain teams. Nonetheless, Toronto has cut the series lead into and look to tie it up tomorrow in Game 4.

Looking to tonight, the Western Conference Finals moves to Oklahoma City. After a surprise Game 1 win, OKC will come home with the series tied looking to take an advantage. Tip is at 8 PM.

Sunday Night Baseball should be a good one tonight. Kyle Hendricks faces off against Madison Bumgarner in the Bay Area as two division leading teams face off. The Cubs own the best record in baseball, while the Giants own the second best in the National League. First pitch is at 8:00. 

That is all that I have today. Check back later. Someone might have something else to say. Until then, later!

-Dug

@chansm1th